I was lucky enough to become a stay at home mom about six months before my first child was born. I was living in Texas, which seemed like a million miles from family and friends. To occupy my time, I frequented message boards on pregnancy and parenting and started to discover blogs. A lot of them had info on couponing and since I had a lot of spare time on my hands and the need to cut back on costs because we were living on one income, I took up the “hobby”.
My son has been exposed to coupons and my frugal ways right from the get-go. He’s not even two yet and he knows what a coupon is and how to use it. He is much too young to grasp the concept of coupons but he likes to hold on to them for me and hand them over to the checker when we go through the line. He sees them in little stacks around the house and says “mommy’s coupons”. I can’t wait until he’s old enough to help me clip them!
I was quite a bit older than two but I remember my dad having me sit down with him while he paid bills. He talked me through everything he was doing. He explained interest rates and why it’s important to stay out of debt. Those lessons have served me well and I have every intention of teaching my children as my dad taught me. I think it’s important to teach our children about saving money. It prepares them for the future and I don’t believe it’s ever too early to start!
My son is just over a year old. He watches me clip coupons every week. I cut a few pieces of paper into coupon sizes. He plays with them, putting them in and out of his cart. I hope that my frugal ways will easily pass on to him.
My daughter is a little older (4) but she is a big help with our coupons. I made her a coupon box that she takes inside stores with her. We reward her with a penny for every blinky she collects during the shopping trip. (She is only allowed to get 4 of each kind). When we get home we go through the box and “buy” the good coupons from her. She loves it!
Great post! My daughter just turned 6 months old and you’d better believe she will grow up surrounded by coupons and saving! 🙂
-Devon